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Letter from the Dean
 On Nov. 11, 2006, the
College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences honored four of its most distinguished alumni
and one of its most respected professors at the
A&S Alumni and Founder’s Medallion Awards Ceremony.
The
Alumni Medallions, which were given to Sean M. Carroll, Ph.D., ‘88,
astronomy and astrophysics, and honors (who was featured in a recent New
York Times article); Chauncey Fortt, Ph.D., ’73, psychology, and Naomi Karam
Koerwitz, ‘88, political science, represent one of the highest and most
prestigious honors a Villanova graduate may receive from the University.
The Graduate Alumni Society of Arts and Sciences presented its annual
Founder’s Awards to Joseph H. Jacovini, Esq., ‘67, political science,
and Klaus Volpert, Ph.D., an associate professor of mathematics.
The award recipients spoke about how the education they received in the
College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences affected their lives in innumerable and deeply
profound ways. I invite you to
hear their remarks on
iTunes University, a new
service offering by the University, which allows visitors to download
podcasts of special events and various lectures.
In addition, I am pleased to share with you that Villanova has been named
one of the
top
producers of Fulbright Awards for U.S. students by the
Institute of
International Education (IIE). The flagship international educational
exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, the
Fulbright Program is designed to increase mutual understanding between
the people of the United States and peoples in other countries, states the
IIE.
Please join me in congratulating all of our students
who have won
Fulbright Awards and all of those who have reached finalist status,
which in itself is a huge accomplishment given the competitive nature of the
program.
Lastly, I’d like to wish you and your families a joyous Christmas holiday
and a very happy new year. I hope you enjoy the semester recess. Thank you for remaining connecting to the College
and for your continued interest in receiving our monthly news updates.
Sincerely,
Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D.
Dean of the College
In College News …
Villanova One of Top Producers of Fulbright Awards
Among master’s institutions, Villanova is one of the top producers of
Fulbright
awards for U.S. students, reported the
Institute of
International Education (IIE). Three Villanova students received
Fulbright grants for 2006-2007.
(Read more ...)
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Honors
Alumni and Faculty at Annual Awards Dinner
Recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of the College’s alumni and
faculty were (from left to right):
Rev. Kail C. Ellis, O.S.A., Ph.D., dean of
the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D.,
University president; Joseph H. Jacovini, Esq., ‘67, political science; Chauncey
Fortt, Ph.D., ’73, psychology; Naomi Karam Koerwitz, ‘88, political science;
Sean M. Carroll, Ph.D, ‘88, astronomy and astrophysics, and honors; Klaus
Volpert, Ph.D., an associate professor of mathematics; and Gerald M. Long,
Ph.D., dean of Graduate Studies and professor of psychology.
College Implements Research Requirement for
A&S Students
The ability to conduct research thoroughly and effectively in one’s
discipline is crucial to continued academic success. That is why the
College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences has instituted for its students a
new research
requirement, which is a course devoted to a particular topic, theme, or
author designed to develop students’ research abilities in their given
majors.
As part of the College’s ongoing review of its core
curriculum, it was decided to create a
research requirement to orient
students to the research process before their senior year.
“By creating a requirement devoted to active learning
on the part of its students, the College further endorses the concept of
active learning in its curriculum,” said Jack Doody, Ph.D., professor of
philosophy, associate dean, and director of the
Villanova Center for Liberal
Education. (Read more ...)
Your Chance to Name the College’s E-newsletter
If you are a regular reader of the College’s e-newsletter, then you
know that the e-newsletter currently is nameless. We would like to change
that and are seeking
your input to do so.
Do you have any creative ideas? Here are some possible contenders for
e-newsletter names: CLASnotes;
NOVUS (Latin for “news”); Tolle, lege (Take it up and read); and The Voice.
The purpose of the College’s e-newsletter is to share information about the
College to a wide audience, including, College faculty, staff,
students, their parents, prospective students and their parents, alumni, and
anyone else interested in keeping up to date on all
College news,
activities, and events.
Please click
here to log in your vote for a name the e-newsletter. We’ll
tally up the results and hope to announce a name in time for the
January 2007 issue.
Thank you.
Save the Dates!
Please mark your calendars for these important events:
Early Action Candidates' Day Saturday, Feb. 3
Candidates' Day Saturday, April 14
Mendel Medal Award Lecture Saturday, April 28
Please click
here for the complete academic calendar.
Event Round-up
An Extensive Program of Events Marks the 2006-2007 Series in
Anthropology
Looking Into Culture: The 2006-2007 Series in Anthropology features a number
of events planned throughout the upcoming fall and spring semesters. For
more information on all of these events, please visit the
series' Web site.
Cognitive Science Program Hosts Upcoming Lecture
The Cognitive Science Program welcomes Professor Steven Sloman of Brown
University, who will discuss "Causal Models of Reasoning and Choice," on
Friday, Dec. 1, at 3:30 p.m. in Tolentine Hall Room 215. Please click
here for more information.
Biology Department Hosts Thursday Seminar Series
The Department of Biology has posted its seminar series on its
Web site. All seminars are held on Thursdays at 5 p.m. in the Mendel
Science Center, Room 154.
Chemistry Department Hosts Tuesday Seminar Series
The Department of Chemistry has posted its seminar series on its
Web site. All seminars are held on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. in the Mendel
Science Center, Room 101.
Department of Mathematical Sciences Hosts Colloquia Series
Click here
to learn more about the colloquia series.
Department of Philosophy to Host Greater Philadelphia Philosophy
Consortium
The Department of Philosophy will host the Greater Philadelphia
Philosophy Consortium on Saturday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please
click
here to learn more.
Ethics Program to Sponsor an Interdisciplinary Conference and
Inaugurate an Award in Professional Ethics
The Ethics Program will sponsor an interdisciplinary conference --
Contemporary Ethical Problems in Engineering Practice: A Dialogue -- May 31
to June 2, 2007. In addition, the Ethics Program will inaugurate the Praxis
Award in Professional Ethics on March 28, 2007. This award will highlight
and celebrate the contributions of a professional or an academic in the
field of professional ethics. For more information on the many activities
planned in the Ethics Program, please visit the program's
Web site.
VCLE to Sponsor 2007 Carlyle Studies Conference
The
Villanova Center for Liberal Education will host the 2007 Carlyle
Studies Conference on the subject of "Thomas Carlyle Resartus: Reappraising
Carlyle for Our Times.” Please click
here for more information.
Mendel Exhibit Coming to The Academy of Natural Sciences
Villanova University and The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia
proudly announce their partnership to present the traveling exhibition,
“Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics,” which will visit the
Academy at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway from May 28 to September 28, 2008.
The exhibition will be available to only five tour venues in the United
States through 2008: Philadelphia (Villanova and the Academy of Natural
Sciences), Chicago, Washington, D.C., Columbus, Ohio, and Memphis,
Tennessee.
During the exhibition’s Philadelphia tour, all Villanova students, staff,
and faculty who present valid identification will receive free general
admission to the Academy of Natural Sciences. It is our hope that you will
find this special exhibition informative and enjoyable.
To learn more about the exhibit, please visit
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/mendel/. For more information, please contact
Kate Szumanski.
Faculty in the News
- Dina Amin, MFA, Ph.D., assistant professor of Arabic Literature &
Culture, and Theatre, participated in a special event,
"Masrah Arab,"
which means, "Arab Theatre." It is part of larger project entitled,
"World Theatre," directed by Professor Joseph Roache at Yale University.
"Masrah Arab" represents the launch of this project. During the fall
semester, Dr. Roache and his team showed three staged readings by
Egyptian playwrights and invited three Arab theater specialists to
mentor students as they prepared and rehearsed the play. Dr. Amin
mentored the student director via e-mail for weeks as the student
researched and prepared for the staged reading. Dr. Amin then went to Yale the
day before the performance and mentored the cast during rehearsals. The
next day, the students performed, and then Dr. Amin gave a talk
entitled, "Naguib Mahfouz's Drama and the 1967 Debackle." A Q & A
session followed. "It was truly a great multicultural experience," Dr.
Amin said. Currently, Dr. Amin is preparing a special cultural event at
the University to commemorate Naguib Mahfouz, the only Arab to have won
a Nobel Prize and who died on August 30, 2006.
-
David Barrett, Ph.D., professor of political
science, was featured in the Wayne Suburban Times in
an article titled, "Villanova professor explores workings of CIA."
Barrett recently published the book,
The CIA and Congress: The
Untold Story from Truman to Kennedy, which
was awarded the D. B Hardeman Prize for best book of
the year focusing on the U.S. Congress from the fields of biography,
history, journalism, and political science. Dr. Barrett was also quoted
in an
article appearing in U.S. News and World Report. He was also
featured in the
Suburban and Wayne Times.
-
Michael F. Brown, Ph.D., a professor of
psychology, was featured in the
Boston Globe in an article entitled,
"Pigeons may be smarter than we think."
-
Timothy J. Dudley, Ph.D., an assistant
professor of chemistry, was awarded a research grant by Research
Corporation for his proposal titled, "Theoretical investigation of
chromium oxides and hydroxides and their reactions with hydrocarbons."
Dr. Dudley's work focuses on using computer models to analyze the
reactions of small organic molecules (e.g., propane) with chromium metal
species. This work is designed to obtain a more thorough understanding
of catalytic processes, such as those used to make plastics. Research
Corporation will supply $33,500 in funding over two years to support
Dr. Dudley and undergraduate student researchers during the summer
months.
-
Martin Laird, O.S.A., Ph.D., an associate
professor of theology and religious studies, was featured in
Christianity Today magazine. His book,
Into the Silent Land, is reviewed in the magazine.
-
Robert A. Maranto, Ph.D., an associate
professor of political science, was featured in an article in the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review entitled,
"Challengers triumph in Eastern Pa."
-
Georgia Papaefthymiou-Davis, Ph.D., an
associate professor of physics, received a National Science Foundation
Grant from the division of Materials Research to study Nanomagnetism of
FeOOH-phases grown within native and variant Apoferritin Nanotemplates.
This is an interdisciplinary area of research at the interface of
Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Materials Engineering that aims at
deeper understanding of the physical properties of magnetic nanolattices
and the development of novel, biocompatible magnetic nanostructures for
advanced biotechnological applications, such as, MRI imaging
enhancement, targeted drug delivery, cell and protein high
magnetic-field-gradient seperation techniques, DNA purification, etc.
The award is for three years in the amount of $192,000, which includes
funds for undergraduate research experience positions during the
summers. Opportunities for honors thesis projects for students majoring
in the sciences and bioengineering are also available within the context
of the research being pursued.
-
Michael Russell, Ph.D., an associate
professor of biology, was awarded a grant from the National Science
Foundation for his project entitled, "RUI: Analyzing demographic
variability of the intertidal sea urchin Strongylocentrotus
purpuratus in the context of oceanographic changes using a unique
time series data set." The total dollar amount for the three-year
project is $675,000.
Alumni in the News
- Sean Carroll Ph.D., '88, who received his undergraduate
degree in astronomy and astrophysics, and honors, was featured in
a recent
New York Times article. Dr. Carroll also received the
2006 A&S Alumni Medallion.
- Daniel E. Cummins, '90, who received a bachelor's degree in
English, is a partner with the Scranton law firm of Foley, Cognetti,
Comerford, Cimini, and Cummins. His article,
“What I Learned from the Corleone Family,” had been selected as the
winner in the Weekly Newspaper category of the
27th annual William A. Schnader Print Media Awards. Cummins is one
of 35 attorneys across the state named “2005 Lawyers on the Fast Track”
by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which recognizes upcoming attorneys
under age 40 for their contributions to the law, the bar association,
and the community.
- Richard Jensen, '94, who received his undergraduate degree in
the College, has been named
Special Counsel by the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP.
Jensen concentrates in the area of asset securitization, with particular
emphasis on the securitization of prime, alt-A, and sub-prime
residential mortgage loans. Clients he regularly represents include
major mortgage, investment, and commercial banks.
IT Corner
- iTunes University
Villanova on
iIunes U is a collaborative initiative between Villanova
and Apple Computer, Inc.
Villanova iTunes U
is a service that is accessed
through Apple's popular iTunes interface. Users of
iTunes U can
subscribe to and download content to their PC or MAC. For portability,
students, faculty and staff "on the go" may also sync their content to
an iPod player or other portable MP3 device. At
iTunes U, you can
download faculty lectures, subscribe to specific podcasts, and stay
connected to Villanova anywhere, any time.
- New Websites Launched – The following departments or
programs launched new websites recently:
Africana
Studies,
Criminal Justice,
Human Resource Development,
Latin
American Studies,
Liberal
Studies, Political
Science,
Public Administration and
Sociology.
Biology, Chemistry, English and Mathematical Sciences are expected to
launch in the next few weeks.
Send Your News Items and Event Notices for Publication Do you need help broadening your outreach efforts, publicizing events, and
getting the word out about the accomplishments of your faculty? Please
submit your announcements or events via our
online submission form or directly to Kate Szumanski at
kathryn.szumanski@villanova.edu.
Kate will include it in the next issue of the College’s e-newsletter. |
